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There are no excuses for the Test team this summer, with chief executive James Sutherland claiming Australia’s Ashes preparations are far superior to England’s.
Sutherland defended the timing of Australia’s one-day tour to India and said the quick change in formats will have minimal effect on players featuring in next week’s first Test in Brisbane.
If rain hadn’t ruined England’s tour match in Hobart last week, the three-time Ashes holders would have had three full first-class matches to lead them into the series.
In contrast, Australia’s Test players have in some cases had an interrupted start to the Sheffield Shield season, with the Indian tour and then the scheduling of England tour matches taking talent out of the domestic fixtures.
However prior to landing in Australia for this tour, England hadn’t played a first-class match since August and no cricket at all since mid September.
Speaking at a Melbourne Press Club function on Wednesday, CA chief Sutherland said white ball cricket is better than no cricket.
If Australia lose a fourth-straight Ashes for the first time since the 1800s – they won’t be blaming preparation.
“There weren’t actually a lot of players who are playing in the Test team in Brisbane who were actually in India, and at the same time there were a lot of players who were back here playing RYOBI Cup who have been able to play in the first couple of rounds of (Sheffield) Shield cricket and had a really good preparation,” said Sutherland.
“We’ve had a lot more cricket than England have over the last couple of months, so don’t tell me we haven’t had a good preparation because England have hardly played.”
Speaking on a raft of issues, Sutherland also reiterated his support for night Test matches as the future of the five-day game.
Sutherland said Test cricket was fundamentally flawed because at least three out of five days have to be played on weekdays when most of the general public are working.
CA is hopeful of staging a day-night Test against New Zealand in two summers’ time.
Sutherland also defended the Big Bash League.
Despite its negative affects on developing Test match skills in players, Sutherland says T20 is a crucial tool in boosting interest in cricket across the board.
“It’s about optimisation because there’s no perfection here,” he said.
“I read a lot of comment about how we’ve got it wrong but I don’t read a lot of comment about what the solutions are to the problem.”
Batting is again the major concern for Australia heading into the Ashes after a raft of collapses in recent years and an inability to dig in and occupy the crease.
Former Australian Test captain Greg Chappell, speaking at the same event, said that T20 was a part of the modern game and governing bodies simply have to find a way to improve coaching of young players.
“The kids that are coming up, they don’t know what it was like fifty years ago, they don’t give a shit really what it was like fifty years ago,” Chappell said.
“This is what they’ve got.
“We’ve got to think about ways that we can make it better for them and help them to survive and prosper in that environment.”
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